A federal judge has denied Attorney General Bill Barr’s motion to have the Department of Justice represent President Donald Trump in a defamation case brought by journalist E. Jean Carroll, who says Trump raped her.
“Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court in Manhattan, rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to step into the case and defend the president, and his ruling means that, for the moment, a lawsuit by the writer E. Jean Carroll can move forward against Mr. Trump, in his capacity as a private citizen,” The New York Times reports.
Barr claims Trump was acting within the scope of his duties when he allegedly defamed Carroll. Today the judge disagreed.
Carroll says Trump raped her in the 1990’s in the dressing room of a Manhattan luxury goods store. When President Trump vulgarly denied her claim she sued him for defamation. she is demanding h submit a DNA sample to prove her allegations.
It is a severe blow to Trump, just 12 hours after he celebrated installing his third Supreme Court justice.